Cotton-harvester.



G. LISPENARD. COTTON HARVESTER. APPLICATION FILED JAN.12, 1909.

Patented Nov. 15, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1 G. LISPENARD. COTTON HARVESTER. APPLICATION FILED JAN.12, 1909.

Patented 1101151910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.s aenand I m m man 1 y 1 M G. LISPBNARD. COTTON HARVESTER, APPLICATIONFILED JAN. 12, 1909.

Patented Nov. 15,1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Jun Lam a) a G. LISPENARD. COTTON HARVESTER. APPLICATION FILED JAN.12,1909.

Patented Nov. 15, 1910.

5 SHEETSSHEET 4.

in we nioc Mm u m Patented Nov. 15, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEBT 5.

G. LISPENARD. COTTON HARVESTEH.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.12, 1909.

5%, & vs Q9. v QM N MM 7 Nv m UNITED STATES PATENT oEEioE.

GEoEeE LISPENARD, E B OOKLYN; NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR flO s. K.LICH'IENSTEIN,

- 'rEUsrEE, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

oo'rroN-HAEvEsTEE.

Specification of Letters Patent. 7 P t t d N 15, 191 Application filedJanuary 1 2, 1909. 'SBIiaINO. 471,892.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, GEORGE LIsPE'NARD, residing at Brooklyn, in thecounty of Kings and'State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Cotton-Harvesters, of which the following-is aspecification;

This invention relates to improvements in cotton harvestershavingparticular reference to. apparatus adapted to travel over the rowsof cotton bushes underits initial motive power, the operative parts ofsaid appa ratus and. means associated. therewith being actuatedto pickor strip said cotton bushes of the ripe cotton thereon,"obviating thedis turbance of the unripe cotton and all possible injury to the cottonplant or bush.

One object of the invention is the provid ing of means carrying aplurality of rotative pickers between which the cottonbushes arereceived as the apparatus travels; along or over the rows of plants,havin also associated therewith means for feeding or guidin'g saidplants in the path of said pickers,

and means for controlling-the positions of.

said rotative. picker supporting means for preventing the barkingor.tearing of said cotton plants by the actuated operative gmeans of theapparatus.

Another and further objectpf the invention is the providing of meansassociated with said picker means adapted to facilitate their picking orstripping capacity and means for actuating one of said pickers wherebyall or a plurality of pickers of a predetermined series-are actuatedfrom ene or a common point.

., In the drawings, :Fi

cross sectional v ew 0. the picker carrier' 4 In the following isdescribed connection with the accompanying drawings, one embodiment ofthe invention, the features thereof being more fully describedhereinafter in the claims. re 1 is a vertical supporting and actuatingmeans of the apparatus, parts being shown'in' elevation. to

' more clearly illustrate the essential features of the operative partsthereof;"Fig. 2 is a plan view of thefpicker actuating meansillustrating. in connection therewith the means of removing or cleaningsaid pickers .after theqpicking operation, the means of collecting andconveying the picked on recovered values of .cotton and means offinallyconveying said recovered cotton to a suitable source of deposit; Fig. 3is a longitudinal elevation of said picker, supporting and actuatingmeans, parts thereof being broken away and showing in part bydiagrammatical illustration the main supporting frame, auxiliary orpicker carrier supporting frame and motive or tractionpower'generat1ng,means; Fig. 41s a detail face elevationof one form ofpicker bar illustrating 'the. picker actuating means and means for"pivotally' supporting said bar on the picker bar supporting andconveying means; Fig.

'5 is 'a detail face elevation of the rotative picker actuatingmechanism. Fig. -6 is a detail side elevation of the structure shown inFig. 5. Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail longitudinal sectional view of oneformof picker the bearing and actuating mechanism there for,illustrating in detail the cupped formation of the toothed or saw disks.Fig. 8 is a detail plan view of the picker barv illustrating theconstruction utilized to facilitate the travel of said bar on an are orpredetermined curve; Fig; 91is a detail face elevation oflthe structureshown in Fig. 7, and

Fig. 10 is a detail vertical sectional view of the picker stemsupporting bar and guides therefor.

Similar numerals or references indicate similar parts throughout theseveral views.

Inthe drawings, 1' indicates the main frame or superstructure of theapparatus, carrying traction means 2' comprising. preferably a runninggear .of the, well known motor vehicle type, including a shaft 3supported bymeans of suitablestructural framework, said shaft 3 havingmounted thereon a driving sprocket adapted to receive chain 5, actuatedfrom sprocketv 6, 'mpunted on drive shaft .7 of motor 8, aid drive shaft7 being --mounted in suitaole' :bearings carried by said super--structure 1. Drlve shaft 7 has also mounted thereon sprocket 9 carryingchain 10 engaging sprocket 11 on intermediate drive shaft 12, mounted inbearings 13, supported by superstructure-1, said shaft 12 havingalsdmounted thereontsprocket 14 carrying chain 15 engaging sprocket .16mounted on picker actuating drive shaft 17 supported in bearings 18,mounted on auxiliary frame or vertically adjustable structure 19; saidac'ljustable structure and means for actuating same, together with saidmotive power, generating and traction means are only longitudinal braceswhich in turn have rigidly fastened thereto uprights 26, said uprights26 comprising the frame supporting means for the vertical adjustment orthe lifting and lowering of the cotton picking mechanism. Said rods 24have, loosely mounted thereon sleeves 27 carrying at their extreme upperends beveled gears 28 meshing withoge'ars.29 mounted on drive shaft 17and controlled by means of clutch 30.

' Rods 24 are supported at their upper ends by means of bracket bearings31, and at their lower ends by bearings 32 mounted on and forming partof auxiliary frame 19 and i in. its adjustment allowed to, traveltherewith. Sleeves 27 are supported in any suitable manner in frame 19and .have mounted thereon driving sprockets 33 slightly below transversebeam 22, and sprockets 34 slightly above beams 23 carrying sprocketchains 35, engaging in their circuits idler sprockets 36 and 37 atthetop of the structure and idler sprockets 38 and 39 at the bottom ofsaid structure, said idlers 36 and 38 being mounted on shaft 40 andidlers 37 and 39 being mounted on shaft 41, said shafts 40 and 41 beingsupported at their extreme ends in bearings .42, also mounted on beams22 and 23. Chains 35.have mounted in links 43 4 pins 44' adapted toengage sockets 45 Figs.

1 and 4 formed or mounted in the upper and lower ends of pickersupporting bars 46, the object of said pivotal supporting means for saidbars being to provide means whereby sald bars may be free to turn at apredetermined point in the circuit of their 50 travel. I 7

Driving sprockets 33 and 34, described above, as carrying chains 35passing over the set or series of idler sprockets and bars 46 areadapted to run in guides 47 supported by means of hanging brackets 48 onsaid transverse beams 22 and 23, which also support at both the upperand lower portions of the picker actuating mechanism interior guides 49,the object of said guides 47 and 49 being to provide means wherebychains, 35 carrying bars 46 may be com-; pelled or forced to travel in arigid position, retaining means obviating all possible lateral or sidemotion while the apparatus is in operation.

levator tube 21 forming part of the cotton Picker bars 46 comprise twovertically set tubes 50, having mou'nted on'their face thereof a convexplate 51 having cut therein an oil groove 51 for lubricating purposesand .on their backs concave plates 52, the object of thesame being toprovide face and back members? that will readily conform to the contouror face of the surface over which said ,bars travel. Said face plates.have mounted thereon a plurality of bearings 53 fastened thereto bymeans of bolts 54, .said

bearings 53. having in turn mounted therein sleeves or shafts 55'havingmounted on their outer ends betweensaid plates and tubes, sprockets 56carrying a chain 57 adapted to engage all of the sprockets 56 mounted onthe inner ends of the several sleeves, the outer ends of the sleevesforming bearings and holding surfaces 58 for picker stems 59 having"suitably mounted thereon or cast -therewith cup shaped slotted pickerdisks 60. Picker stems 59 are held in place on said bearings 58 by meansof lugs 61 on hand springs 62 engaging holes 63 in the respectivemembers thereof, the extreme outer end of said stems being closed bymeans of plug 64. .Said' picker bars 46 have mounted on their innersides at their upper and lower ends roller bearings 65, engaging theinterior surfaces of supporting guides or rails 66 supported bystructural frame attached to said transverse beams 22 and 23 in anysuitable manner, the'object of said roller bearings 65 being toprovide-means for pre venting said picker bars from sagging, be-

ing thrown, or from being jarred out of their predetermined course oftravel-which would necessarily tend to create a drag on the operativeparts of the pickeractuating mechanism. V

The apparatus asherein shown and de-' scribed is designed to travelbetween the rows of cotton bushes or plants, one row of said bushesbeing fed between or intermediate of the picker frames, said framesbeing raised or lowered at will within approximately'two inches of theground line, the hills or tufts of earth passing between and sometimestouching the guides and protecting platesor shields of the apparatus,the

upper portion of said bushes or plants or that part bearing the ripe andunripe cotton bolls, including the stems and leaves, being forced tocome in contact with and passing through the actuated picker stemscarried by the traveling picker bars.

The sleeves or shafts on preferably every third picker stem on each ofsaid picker bars 46 are longer than the other of said sleeves and extendthrough the rear plate 52 and have mounted thereon gears 67 engagingpinions 68' supported on stud' shafts 69 mounted in bars 46. Said shafts69 have. also mounted thereon stud pinions 70 engaging racks 71 formedon the interior sides of slots 72, cut or formed in driving slides 73,having mounted therein at their extreme upperends roller bearings 74engaging tracks 75, supported by means of frame 19 or fastened tointerior guides 49. Said tracks 75 Starting at the center of the are orcircumferential guide of drive sprock-. ets 33 are mounted or setinapproximately a fifteen degree pitch or are diagonally inclined as at76, said pitch ending at the extreme of the parallel as at. 77, saidtracks atthis point following the horizontal sums of the supportingmembers .of the frame. Where'the pitch of said track s' 75 ef1d's,-indicated as at 77, the apparatus-and frame therefor recede, 'as\at 78',the frame or supporting structuieof the device flares outwardly as shownin Fig. 2 of the drawings,

guides 47 and 49 being cutaway at the termination of the said pitch-asat 79, permitting at this point picker bars 46 carrying the rotatingpicker stems 59 to turn at will,

of direct rotation,'which causesthe' cotton,

as picked and held by them to be thrown Y therefrom, whence it fallsupon rotating disks ,,81 and 82, inounted'on and actuated by shafts40.and 41; After the cotton is thrown upon disks "8'I' itj is carri'ed bythe rotation .thereofto disks 82 which in turn carry it to 'conveyertubes 83 having formed therein. openings 84-and deflector guides 85adapted to feed the cotton into said openingsi84, whence it is carriedby said tubes 83, connecting with elevator tubes 21 at the front end ofthe apparatus by means of the vacuum generated and controlled by meansas heretofore described.

,The structure illustrated and referred to as track 75 acts asadeflector causing the cotton as collected by conveyer 71 to fall ,uponthe upper surface of conveyer 82 whence it is conveyed to the vacuumcon- 55 d veying means.

Shafts 24, 40 and41, described above. as carrying the respectiveactuating sprockets, are supported by means of spider frame 86.

Interior guides 47 of the vertical adjustable frame have suitablyfastened thereto platforms 87 directly beneath the rotative plcker stems59 on the inner sides of the apparatus, extending forward a suitabledistance in the rear-of guards or deflectors 88, supported on verticalelevator tubes 21 by means of ton plant or bush.

bolts 89, the rear of said platforms 87 flarin outwardly, forming atthat point suitab e reception surfaces for collecting and retaining theparticles of cotton that are discharged or jarred from the rotativecotton conveying-disks 81 and 82. The inner edges 90 of said platforms87 are hinged as at 91, providing a resilient'guiding body for the stemsand short runners or shoots of the coti. The operation-of the device isas follows: The device as herein shown and described is designed totravel between the rows of -'cotton bushes or plants by its own momentum.or by a suitable vehicle traction means, the guards 88 and guides 90thereof feed ing or forcing the plants or that portion thereofcontaining the ripe and unripe cotton bolls, stems and leaves in thepath of a plurality of rotative picker stems 59, having mounted thereonthe cup shaped slotted picker disks 60; which extract and collect all ofthe cotton contained in the ripe bolls, the unripe bolls, stems andleaves of said plant'or bush being protected from disturb- 'ance,removal or in ury by means of the particular formation and position ofthe-actuated rot-atlve cotton pickers on said picker bars 46 during thepicking positions of the apparatus, the direction oftravel of saidpicker-means being illustrated by the arrows shown in Fig. 2 of-thedrawings. In case a small portion of the picked cotton should be droppedfrom said picker stems 59 it is carried to rotating conveyers 81 and 82where all of the picked cottonfis compelled to fall by means of thereversed rotation of said picker stems, whence it isconveyed by saidconveyers 81 and -82 to tubes 83 which vin turn carry it to asuitable'sou rcc of deposit-by means of. a vacuum or other means.

The picking capacity of the apparatus starts at approximately thebeginning of the parallel portions of the paths of they picker stems andends-at 79, the picker bars 46 carrying the plurality of picker stems 59being thereafter free to turn at any angle until the actuating meanstherefor engages the guide tracks onthe outside of the respectivesections; the object of the same being to provide means for overcomingrigid lateral movements of said picker stems after they have passedbeyond their picking positions,

thus obviating any possible drag on any portion of the plant, at thesame time ren-' dering the apparatus less liable to'injure the stems,leaves, unripe bolls or any portion of the body of said plant. Theseries of picker stems carried by each ofsaid picker bars 46 areactuated by means of gear 67 engaging pinion 68 on stud shaft 69, whichin turn carry stud gears 70 operating in racks 71 actuated and movedvertically by means of roller bearings; 74 engaging in track 75, saidoperation being forced by means of the travel of the individualpickerbars 4G pivotally mounted on chains 35 driven by means of sprockets 33and 34, which in turn receive their initial power throu h a series oftransmission gears 28 and described herein may be varied in many ways,particularly in structural features and form, size, materials used, specfied operations and power generating means without departing from thespirit of the invention.-

' What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. An apparatus. of the character described, comprising a main frame,traction means, motive power generating means, an auxiliary framemounted in said main frame, power transmitting means carried by saidauxiliary frame actuated from said power generating means, chainsassociated therewith, a plurality of'vertica-lly set bars pivotallymounted on said chains, guidestherefor, a plurality of rotative pickersmounted on said bars, means for act-uating said pickers simultaneouslyfrom one or a I common point, means for guiding and controlling thepositions of said rotative pickers, means for rotating said pickers in areverse direction and discharging the cotton picked thereby, aprimarycollector means, a secondary collector means, means forrecovering the cotton gathered by said collector means, and means forguiding the body of the plant or bush in the path of said rotativepickers.

2. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a main frame,traction means mounted thereon, power generating means associatedtherewith, a vacuum generating means an auxiliary frame, means forsupporting said auxiliary frame vertically within said main frame,driving shafts carried by said auxiliary frame driven from said powergenerating means sprockets mounted thereon, traveling chainscarried bysaid sprockets, pivotal supports mounted on said chains, a plurality of,vertically set bars mounted in said pivotal supports, guides for saidbars, a plurality of rotative bearings mounted on each of said bar's,picker stems mounted on sald rotative bearings andfree to turntherewitln'means for rotating one of said bearings to simultaneouslyactuate all of said bearings, guides for said rotative bearing actuatlngmeans, means for imparting an oscillatory movement to'said bars on Ysaid support, a plurality of cupped disks mounted on each of said pickerstems adapted to extract .the cottonfrom its boll, means for rotatingsaid picker stems in ,a reverse direction and discharging the cottongathered thereby,means for guiding a plant or bush in the path of saidrotative picker stems,- rotative conveyer means actuated from saidpicker traveling and operating means,

power generating means, and a platform carried by said auxiliary frameprovided Y with a hinged guide for the c'otton'plant or bush adapted torecover the cotton discharged from said pickers and conveyers.

3. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a main frame,motor vehicle means associated therewith, an auxiliary frame supportedvertically within said main frame,'a driving shaft mounted on saidauxiliary frame actuated by saidmotor vehicle means, driving means onsaid driving shafts vertically mounted shafts provided with actuatingmeans engaging the driving means -on said driving shafts, sprocketsmounted on said vertically set shafts, chains engaging said sprockets,pivotal supports carried by said chains, a plurality of supporting barsmounted on said pivotal supports, bearings mounted on said bars, aplurality of rotative sleeves mounted in said bearings, picker stemsmounted on.

and free to turn with said sleeves, cupped disks provided with aplurality of slots mounted on said stems, ported by said auxiliary ramea portion of each of said tracks being horizontally disposed and otherportions beingincli-ned,

roller bearings on said bars engaging said tracks, driving racksmounted; on each of said bars, means mounted on certain of said pickerstem sleeves engaging said racks,

sprockets mounted oneach of said sleeves,

chains carried bysaid sprockets, the travel of said bars being adaptedto actuate one of said picker stems and \causethe simultaneous forwardand reverse rotation of all of said pickers, rotative" collector andconveyer means, a stationary collector means adjacent to and adapted toreceive the cotton from said rotative collector and con veyer means, aplatform provided with a resilient receiving surface adapted to feedthecotton bush in the path of said rotative pickers and to recover thecotton discharged by said rotative collector and conveyer means, guardssupported by said main frame adapted to force the spreading parts .of acotton bush in the path of said pickers,

and means for releasing said bars from their traveling guides to preventbarking or tearing of the body of said cotton bush.

4. An apparatus of the character deuide tracks sup-' -llO scribed,including a main frame an auxiliary frame mounted within said mainframecomprising depending sections adapted to have pass between them a rowoffcotton bushes,

- shafts; carried thereby, means' for actuating said shafts,sprocketsmounted on said shafts,- chains carried by said sprockets,pivotal supporting means associated with-said chains,

a plurality of vertically set bars mounted on said pivotalrsupports, aplurality of 'rotative pickers mounted on said bars,jcam tracks mountedin each of said depending sections,

7 means actuated from one ofsaid rotative,

pickers on each of said bars engagin 'said. cam tracks forv actuatingall of said lckers on each bar simultaneously, meansor reversing therotation of said ickers for dis-. charging the picked cotton t 'erefrom,platforms carried by-ceachof'said sections,- rotative collectors andconveyers mounted in each of said sections, stationaryconveyers adjacentto each of said rotative collectors and conveyors, and means forrecovering and conveying the cotton collected by sai conveyers.

5. An apparatus of the character described including a main' supportingframe, a depending frame mounted on said supporting rame comprised oftwo independent sections, and a picker stem actuating means mounted ineach of. said .inde endent sections comprising a guide trac and roller.bearings adapte to engage .said

zontally'. disposed and other portions thereof inclined, racksassociated with said roller ide track," v a portlon of each ofsaidtracks eing horibearings,.picker stem supporting'means, 1'0";

tative picker stems. mounted in said sup porting-means, driv'mg means oneach of.

" said picker stem supporting means engaging said racks, and meansmounted on one of" I said rotativ'e picker stems, engaging said drivingmeans and means operatively connectingthe last named picker stem wlththe other picker stems, the travel of said roller bearings on saidtracks in one of said in-,

clined portions causing rotation of said picker stems-in aforwarddirection and the?

